Edo governorship: Obaseki has abandoned governance, only interested in tackling people –Ize-Iyamu

PicturPastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a governorship aspirant on the platform of the party in the coming Edo State election recently speaks on some issues including consensus candidacy, Edo APC primaries and Governor Obaseki’s recent Utterances; TITUS AKHIGBE in Benin reports.

**********On Consensus candidate

You can see that many of us aspirants have chosen to work together, myself, General Airhiavbere, Engr Chris Ogiemwonyi, Dr Pius Odubu, Hon Saturday Uwuilekwe, Professor Amadasun, Chief Solomon Edebiri, people who have expressed here and there, their interest in governorship, but that has not stopped us from interacting; from sitting together. And we have all resolved that somebody will get it and whoever gets it, all of us will support the person. And that is how it is supposed to be.

But of course there is the other side who believe governorship should be non negotiable; governorship should be left for only one person, but that is not democracy. That is not how it is done.

Their own method is that either you support an agenda or you are crushed. But Edo people have never been cowards and we are not cowards. We believe in engagement. We believe in dialogue.

For many of us, we are ready to concede to the party’s position. Whoever the party wants, fine and if by the grace of God, it happens the party also chooses us, we also expect the same level of grace from them and that means to concede.

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I don’t see any reason for any more agitation. That is not how democracy works. We must go through primaries. Somebody eventually would get elected and we expect every genuine party man and woman to support the person.

*********On Leaving APC if he does not get party ticket

I have no intention of leaving the party simply because the party has chosen somebody and am not the person. That is very wrong. That will be very ridiculous. And am not going to allow that kind of stigma to be put on me.

Am a team player, if we can actually get to the Level where we can actually engage ourselves, interface and come up with a consensus, it saves a lot of money, a lot of stress, a lot of bitterness, a lot of rivalry. That will be fine.

There is nothing wrong with consensus, but not the consensus that some people are advocating that is founded on force and imposition. Nobody will support that. Genuine consensus is based on dialogue, based on mutual respect, based on persuasion. Yes that is feasible. That will be supported.

Infact, the dialogue that four of us are already doing is working towards a consensus candidate. Why do four of us need to go and buy forms when we know that only one person will emerge? So if we are able to talk among ourselves and narrow down to one or two persons be rest assured that we will be okay.

**********On Governor Obaseki

For the past one and a half years the governor has abandoned governance. All we are hearing from him are very inciting and very provocative and not the kind of statement a chief executive or a statesman is expected to be making.

I have heard him say, ‘I will deal with him’, ‘I will crush him’, ‘We will deal with them’. Such statements are deplorable. And when you also realise who is he talking about, most of the time, it is worrisome. He is talking about somebody who was the immediate past governor of the state.

Somebody who more or less did everything to get you elected and more importantly somebody who is the National chairman of the party you belong to. For crying out loud, you must respect your chair. That goes without saying.

Whoever is your party chairman is first among equals, you owe him that respect. For those of us who have been playing politics for a long time, when the local government or state chairman of the party comes in, we stand up. It shows respect for the party.

So when you hear a governor getting so aggressive and begins to use the kind of words you hear on the street, it becomes alarming.   And the level they have gotten to now is very disturbing.